The ABL's inaugural season begins Friday and many media
outlets are previewing the new league along with the WNBA, the
women's league debuting in June and backed by the NBA. In the
ABL, nearly one-third of the league's $16M budget will go toward
salaries, according to Gordon Monson of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE.
But the "questions remain" whether two leagues can survive in a
market that has "never sustained women's pro hoop." Gil
Thompson, agent for Atlanta Glory's Saudia Roundtree: "My clients
all have one-year contracts, so that will tell you how much
confidence I have the ABL will be going beyond a year." But ABL
Co-Founder/VP Gary Cavalli says the league "should draw good
crowds. We selected our markets carefully." Cavalli said ticket
sales are "on target," with season tickets bases of 1,600 for the
New England Blizzard, 1,400 for the San Jose Lasers, and Denver,
Seattle and Portland with 1,100 (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 10/12). The
ABL is predicting a $2-3M loss its first year, according to
Celeste Whittaker of the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION. Sponsors will
contribute about $3M to its $16M first year budget, another $4M
has been raised through private funding and the league hopes to
raise $7M from merchandising, ticket sales and licensing.
Whittaker: "Despite the odds, ABL players have remained loyal to
the start-up league, which may lack the money, marketing power
and glitz" of the WNBA (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/16). In Denver,
columnist Mark Wolf notes "the time seems right" for the ABL,
adding "I hope all this works. I hope the Xplosion finds its
target market" (Rocky Mountain News, 8/15). In San Francisco,
Steve Kettmann profiles the ABL on the front page of this
morning's CHRONICLE. Kettmann: "No one expects two leagues to
survive indefinitely, but no one knows just what to expect" (S.F.
CHRONICLE, 10/16).
WNBA: The WNBA will announce teams October 30. In Phoenix,
Jeff Metcalfe writes the league will debut in New York, Chicago,
L.A., with the rest of the WNBA in Phoenix, Salt Lake and three
out of these four cities: Cleveland, Charlotte, Houston and
Sacramento. Suns President Jerry Colangelo, a member of the
committee creating the WNBA guidelines, said, "If you were a
betting person, you'd bet on the strength of the WNBA" (ARIZONA
REPUBLIC, 10/13).
